8 Ways to Sunday

One of my favorite books is on its way to the silver screen. The author himself dishes on the casting of the starring role and links to further details (mild spoilers).

This video has been passing around all month, but I just found out about it this week. It’s a movie trailer spoof of Brokeback Mountain by way of Back to the Future.

Ladies and Gentlemen: Brokeback to the Future, by Chocolate Cake City.

(Props: Elizabeth, who sent me the link via e-mail.)

This seems pretty accurate. Odd that the next possibility was The Operative, however. It may have come out this way because I hold strong convictions, but am not willing to go to mercenary lengths to enforce or uphold them.

You scored as Kaylee (Kaywinnet Lee) Frye. The Mechanic. You are a natural mechanic, and you are far too sweet and cheerful to live out here. How you can see the good in everyone around you boggles the mind occasionally. Still you don’t seem to be any crazier than that, and it is a nice kinda crazy. Kaylee (Kaywinnet Lee) Frye 81% The Operative 75% Zoe Alleyne Washburne 56% Simon Tam 56% River Tam 50% Inara Serra 50% Hoban 'Wash' Washburne 50% Capt. Mal Reynolds 44% Shepherd Derrial Book 31% Jayne Cobb 31%

Which Serenity character are you?
created with QuizFarm.com

(Props: Stupid Evil Bastard)

Those looking for a Firefly fix until the movie version, Serenity, comes out in the fall might want to pick up the first issue of the Serenity comic from Dark Horse. The three-issue series is meant to serve as a bridge between the series and the movie. You can order from Dark Horse here; apparently comics stores are selling out quickly.

I’ve found one review (spoiler free), though the reviewer seems prejudiced by his preconceptions. More interesting is a comment to the review by someone who’s seen one of the preview screenings of Serenity. No spoilers, but he does claim that Serenity the movie and Firefly the series are quite different animals.

Update

8/5/2005 @ 7:36 AM — Some more reviews of Serenity #1, all with minor plot spoilers:

• Silver Bullet Comics
• Comixfan Forums
• The Great Curve
• Paperback Reader

In a review that surprised the hell out of me (no pun intended), evangelical Christian magazine Relevant has given the new Keanu Reeves flick Constantine a big thumbs-up. Recognizing the movie’s similarities to the Biblical books of Job and Revelation, author Kevin Miller praises the film for presenting highly relevant spiritual questions in an entertaining context:

While the theology of this film is far from orthodox, the themes and questions it raises are a different story. Few Christian films have done a better job of depicting the difference between works and grace. And few mainstream films offer such a strong affirmation of the spiritual dimension of life, showing it to be every bit as real and consequential as the physical. Constantine also addresses a number of spiritual questions that seem particularly pressing at this point in time, questions like “Is God good?” “Does He have a plan for me?” “Is He out to get me?” “Is He even there?” and “What must I do to be saved?”

An image from the film “Constantine”

It’s an interesting perspective on the film, coming from an interesting publication. Relevant represents the crystallization of what I’ve seen as a growing trend in the the last few years: evangelical Christians of my generation and a little older who’ve opened themselves and their faith up to all aspects of politics and pop culture, rather than walling themselves off from the world.

While I’m not an evangelical Christian myself, this is a refreshing change that I hope to see more of. Such an outlook can only be beneficial to relations between those of all faiths.

As for Constantine, I thought it was a lot of fun and definitely more thoughtful than your typical Hollywood religio-action thriller. I’ll try to get a full review up sometime soon.

(Props: The Revealer)

Updates:

• 3/1/2005 at 2:45 PM — This is also a guest post on Stupid Evil Bastard.